


My Demons

by PretentiousCoffee



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Panic Attacks, Post-Avengers (2012), Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Running from past, Superpowers, tragic past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:39:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4758476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PretentiousCoffee/pseuds/PretentiousCoffee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Running from her wretched past, Elise Parker is taken under the wings of the Avengers to help her adjust to both her powers and her new life.</p><p>"The enemy not only lives in the outside world, more often than not, it lives inside gnawing away until death do you part. </p><p>Years of running have solidified her understanding of her own demons. There is no reasoning with them, there is no rationale to suppress them, and there is no getting away from them. She has come to terms that there is no escaping from this toxic relationship; after all, why fight a losing battle?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm glad you've decided to try out this fic despite the vague, cookie cutter description! Good on you! 
> 
> Just a warning, this fic does deal with several subjects that some may find to be disturbing and thus I will add *Trigger Warning* at the beginning of every chapter, because, well, most of this story will have some aspects that could trigger someone.
> 
> Another disclaimer, I don't do well with updating regularly, especially with my work schedule. So remember, patience is a virtue. Ps, if it's been a while, drop a comment, they get sent straight to my email and will remind me to work on the story. Not begging for comments, just keeping it real.

Winter, to some, is regarded as a beautiful season filled with holiday joy and warm cocoa by the fire. To the homeless, it is a vicious season filled with suffering and dread. It is a time where even the weather joins in upon looking down upon the group of unfortunate souls. Cardboard shelters stand no chance against strong winds and heavy snowfall while the sub-zero temperatures seemingly mocks the pathetic attempts at keeping warm in weather inappropriate clothing.

A harsh gust of wind whips Elise’s matted auburn hair around and chills her straight through to the bone.  Despite her worn, holey sweater and faded jeans, the below zero temperatures still makes her feel like she’s only minutes away from freezing solid to the concrete. Elise squeezes her sweater closer and quickens her walk, trying to find someplace warm and out of freezing winds to sleep for the night, a surprisingly difficult task to accomplish in the city.

Amid dodging people, she can hear a pair of footsteps, the pace eerily close to her own. Typically, in a city as large as Manhattan, hearing someone walking the same pace and direction isn’t an abnormal thing, however years of street smarts has almost given Elise a 6th sense for danger. After all, being homeless, young, and a woman in a bustling city are tough odds to overcome.

‘Please let this be a coincidence, PLEASE let this be a coincidence.’ She prays to herself. Although being overly cautious has saved her many times in the past, every now and again she has simply been over paranoid. We’ll chalk it up to spending most of adolescence and all of her short adult life on the streets.

Immediately, Elise changes her destination and speed. She hooks a sharp right towards the more upscale high-rise buildings and almost begins to jog. This will prove once and for all if she’s being stalked or not; the wealthy working class can’t be bothered going faster than a brisk walk to their destination. A rhythmic thumping sound behind her gives her the confirmation she needs to kick it into high gear. ‘Shit! Gotta run! Don’t get caught, don’t get caught!’ she frantically chants internally. From the corner of her eye, she can see that her stalker is wearing a fine black suit, a bit unusual for your average run-of-the-mil rapists and/or human trafficker.

Elise looks around trying to locate familiar buildings but is disheartened to find that she’s lost. She has never been to this part of town, or at least not during dusk. Hoping for the best, she darts between buildings and makes sharp, unpredictable turns in hopes of either losing or outrunning her pursuer. She glances back to see if she is still being followed, but is stunned when she runs face-first into a dumpster. Dazed, she can feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins forcing her heart to race at inhuman speeds. ‘This can’t be happening. Don’t touch me, don’t come near me!’ She crawls on all fours trying to regain her feet but trips, almost hitting her face again.

The man stops running and begins to stalk towards her. With no hopes of outrunning her stalker in her dizzy state, Elise cowers between the building and the dumpster curling upon herself. “Go away. Don’t touch me!” Elise screams, shielding her eyes at the horror that is about to unfold.

It’s coming. She can feel them, they’re coming out.

With every pump of blood through her veins, they emerge from her back, slowly growing. Though transparent to any normal human, Elise can see them clear as day. Long fluid-like tentacles emerge from her back, gelatinous one second, razor sharp the next. And they’re all aiming at the poor sap that’s decided to stalk her.

“No, please don’t do this. I don’t want this to happen. No more, no more!” She pleads with the man.

“Ma’am,” The man pulls out a wallet to reveal a badge, “I’m with the CIA, if you can come with me for a moment. We’d just like to ask you a few questions. We can also provide you with some food, a warm shower and clean clothes, if you’d just follow me.” The man says in a clinical tone.

Focusing on his movements more than his words, her mind begins to race as the man progressively gets closer to her. ‘It’s going to happen again, I don’t want it to happen again! Why won’t he just go away!? I don’t want to hurt him, I don’t want to hurt anyone! I can’t control them. Make it stop, please let this all end!’

 “No, go away, don’t touch me! I can’t control them! I don’t want to hurt anyone!” She shrieks, not disguising the sheer panic in her voice.

Little does the fool know that he is mere seconds away from death.

………

Five minutes earlier, Stark Tower

“Sir,” JARVIS chimes in above the Black Sabbath blaring in the background, “There seems to be a disturbance just outside of the building. Shall I call the police?”

Stark peeks out from his current project with oil stains smattered over his face and arms. “Let me see. Pull up the security footage.” Stark commands the AI.

The AI obeys and brings up the security camera footage, offering several vantage points of the ongoing incident. A petite young woman hides beside a dumpster, while a man in a suit stalks closer. Stark watches the incident unfold with growing curiosity. He gets up from behind his workbench and motions for the cameras to zooms into the man’s face. “Jarvis, get me all you have on that man then do the same with the little one hiding behind garbage. This is a good opportunity time to test out the Mark XLIII.” He says more to himself.

While preparing, he’s also keeping an eye on the situation with a particular interest on the girl. The AI interrupts his internal musings, “Sir, I’ve gathered all the requested information. It seems as though the man is affiliated with HYDRA.” Before JARVIS finishes his report, Stark is already suited up and on his way down to the ground via the balcony.

With a metallic clunk, he lands right between the two. “Pro tip buddy, if you’re going to attack someone, may not want to do it in plain sight of my living room.” Stark says casually pointing to his building behind them.

The man pales and looks visibly afraid at the possibility of getting into a fight with a large metal suited man. He immediately turns tail and runs, mentally predicting the outcome of the fight. Stark takes a step forward to pursue the agent, but halts at the sound of a dull thud behind him. He looks back to see that the young woman has passed out.

Letting his chivalry and curiosity take over, he walks over to the unconscious body, picks her up, and carries her inside the building.

On his way up, he uses the call function on his suit to call Bruce Banner.

“Banner.”

“Hey doc, meet me on the medical floor. I’ve got a little something you might be interested in.” Stark states before promptly hanging up.

 

…..

As he gingerly sets the girl on the nearest bed, the elevator doors ding at its arrival, bringing with it a mildly worried Banner.  

“Tony? Is everything alright?” Banner begins, but is stunned at the room, “Wow, this is… extravagant. I’m pretty sure you could run your own hospital from here if you wanted to.”

The whole story features an open layout, the only dividers being hanging curtains surrounding the few hospital beds, and is fitted with state of the art medical equipment. The room is painted bright white giving a clinical feel to it, but one wall is completely covered in glass, offering a breathtaking view of Manhattan city.

“Yeah, I had this floor turned into a medical bay after the whole Chitauri fiasco. Taking a page from the Boy Scouts, always being prepared and whatnot.” Stark replies dismissively, focusing on his patient.

Banner stops midstride once he sees the girl lying on the bed, “Is this why you called me down here? Who is she? What’s wrong with her?” he asks, confused as to why Tony would be interested in a seemingly random girl.

“Jarvis, what’ve you got?” Stark asks in response to Banner.

“Elise Ann Parker, twenty two years old, no current address or employer, no living relatives. She was held on suspicion of arson at the age of sixteen, however was released due to lack of evidence. No further police records to show.”

“I’m sorry, but why, exactly, is she so fascinating to you?” Banner asks Tony, interrupting the AI’s report.

“A Hydra agent was trying to kidnap her. Now tell me, why would Hydra, an organization hell bent on world domination, be interested in a homeless girl like her?”

“I have no idea.” Banner says with a bit of a sigh.

“Me either, that’s why I want to find out. You can’t honestly tell me you’re not at least a little interested.” Stark asks with a knowing look.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Trigger Warning*

Elise starts to stir from her slumber; two voices are rousing her back to consciousness. She tries to open her eyes but groans slightly at the intensity of the intrusive lights above her. When her eyes adjust to the brightness, she is shocked to find two sets of eyes staring back at her. Her heart begins to pound in her throat in response to their terrifying presences. Within a second, she is up and crawling backwards towards the headboard trying to get as much distance as she can from the two unknown men as soon as possible.

“Woah, easy there Courage, we’re the good guys here.” Stark says holding his hands up in mock surrender.

“Who are you? Where am I? Are you with the CIA guy?” She rushes, looking between the two men for answers.

“It’s alright, we’re not here to hurt you; we just want to know a few things.” Banner says in a calm, soothing manner trying to diffuse the situation.

“Please just let me go, I don’t want anything else to happen. I just want to leave.” She pleads with the man. Terrifying images of both men being ripped apart by her vectors are flashing in her mind. She unknowingly curls up into a ball, trying to keep them inside.

“No, we’re not going to hurt you, we just want to ask you some questions, it’s really okay.” Banner tries to talk some reason into the frightened girl to no avail.

Without warning, Stark begins to speak nonchalantly to no one in particular, “I’m hungry. Anyone else hungry? I could go for pancakes.”

The normalcy of his statement brings silence to the room, effectively diffusing the tension that was building. All the attention goes on him.

“At this time of night…?” Banner asks dumbfounded in a chastising tone.

“Sure, why not? C’mon Jumpy, I’ll make you some too, you look like you haven’t eaten in a while.” He says conversationally while walking towards the elevator.

Both Elise and Banner share a look of confusion at the insanity of the situation. Elise debates within herself whether or not to momentarily trust these two strangers, but in the end her stomach wins the debate; who knows when she’ll get an opportunity to eat again.

As she approaches the elevator, she visibly tenses at the thought of getting any closer to the strange men, but is overwhelmed with hunger. So much so that she’s practically drooling at the mere thought of a warm meal. She timidly follows the two men into the elevator, huddling to the corner furthest from them. Both Banner and Stark raise an eyebrow at the excessiveness of her action, but she doesn’t notice.

When they get to the desired floor, she makes more than enough room for them both to get out and ensures there is no chance of any bodily contact. They make their way to a modern kitchen decked out with appliances that would make any high class chef feel at home. Stark begins gathering the tools and ingredients needed for pancakes, while Banner leans on the breakfast bar dividing the kitchen. Elise takes this as a cue and proceeds to sit at one of the high stools furthest from the two men and closest to the door, patiently waiting for her promised meal.

“So,” Stark begins while mixing up the batter, “tell us a little about yourself.”

She has a skeptical look on her face regarding their intentions. ‘Why? I’m only here for the pancakes. Not to mention, is this any different than being questioned by the CIA?’ she gripes to herself.

Stark sees the hesitation in her eyes and goes for a less invasive approach “Okay, how about we compromise? For every question you answer, I’ll answer one of yours. You look like you have a few.”

She thinks it over for a few seconds before responding in a timid voice, “I’m Elise. Who are you two?”

Stark rests the whisk in the bowl so he can point to himself, “I’m Tony Stark, owner of Stark Industries and that is Bruce Banner, resident doctor.” He then returns to whisking the pancake batter. “Why was that man following you?”

She squints slightly trying to recounts earlier events, trying to tell her story accurately, “I don’t know, he just began following me and then told me he was CIA and needed to question me. Where am I?”

“Technically? In my kitchen.” Stark replies with a playful tone.

Banner rolls his eyes, “You’re in the Stark Tower in midtown Manhattan. So this CIA agent, do you know why he wanted to talk to you?”

She can feel her breath getting caught in her throat, although she doesn’t know the exact reasoning, she has a very good guess. “He didn’t say.” She says shortly.

Stark slightly squints his eyes, sensing that she’s hiding something “Why do you _think_ he wanted to take you in?”

Before she could get freaked out at the potential ramifications of them knowing too much, she promptly ignores the question and asks one of her own. “Why did you rescue me? I mean, of all the people in Manhattan that were probably being robbed, mugged, or killed at that very moment, why did you choose to help me?”

Stark looks at her inquisitively regarding her abrupt deflection but lets it go and answers her question. “Simple, you were at the right place at the right time. Well, all things considered.” he says while beginning to plate the finished pancakes.

One part of her was happy that there was no ulterior motive but the other was slightly upset that it was simply a coincidence. For some reason, she wanted to feel like she was special. ‘This is stupid, I should be happy that there was no unique reason they saved me. That is all I’ve wanted for the past, however many years. Alone and normal, that’s my goal. I shouldn’t be upset; I’m just getting what I want.’ She tries to reason with herself.

Stark sets a plate in front of Elise, slides one down to Banner, before finally getting one himself. Elise looks down at the plate and hesitates, seemingly fighting within herself on whether or not to eat it. She is still filled with doubts on their intentions and is unsure if it is safe to let down her guard.

Catching on to her internal debate, Stark takes his knife and fork, reaches over and cuts himself a slice from her stack of pancakes, then shoves the whole thing in his mouth and chews with an impish grin on his face.

Stunned at what has taken place, Elise is filled with so many emotions: surprise, relief, and most of all, amusement. Without her realizing it, a small fit of giggling laughter bubbles up and escapes from her mouth. With her mind put at ease of the integrity of her meal, Elise tucks into her warm stack of mostly uneaten pancakes with delight.

Both Banner and Stark watch the young woman turned little girl with smiles plastered on their faces. They are both relieved to see her relaxed and carefree in the moment. Amazing what a small stack of pancakes can do.

With all three finished eating, Stark clears the plates and suddenly starts speaking, “So, seeing as it’s my turn to ask a question, why do you _think_ the CIA wanted to take you in?” He asks leaning over the breakfast bar slightly.

Elise pales at the question, “I have no idea.” She says while avoiding eye contact. She’s always been a poor liar, but in this case she’s lying for a good cause.

If anyone else found out about her ‘problem’, they would only be brought the same amount of trouble. More agents would come back for her, but they would also come back for anyone who knew about her. She’s lived it firsthand; she knows how that type operates.

“I think you’re lying.” Stark challenges her.

“Listen,” She calmly says while getting up from her chair, “I appreciate your kindness; I really do, so in return, I’m going to go. You guys don’t need to be involved with the mess that is my life.” She finishes regretfully.

Just as both Banner and Stark look as if they’re about to say something, a British robotic voice sounds from nowhere startling Elise. “Sir, S.H.I.E.L.D is here and has requested access.”

“Well, send them away, we’re a bit preoccupied at the moment.” Stark replies as if it’s the most normal thing in the world to talk to a random voice in the ceiling.

“Who’s that?” Elise asks with confusion.

“Elise, meet JARVIS, JARVIS meet Elise” Stark introduces the two.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance” the AI responds politely.

“He’s my AI who runs the house.” Stark says as if that explains everything.

“Sir, SHEILD is coming up the elevator, they seem to have bypassed my security systems.”

Within seconds the elevator dings and a small squadron of agents comes bursting through the doors, surrounding the three of them in a semi-circle. The leader has a bow in his hands, while all the others have weird looking modified pistols. The sight of all the guns and intimidating looking men jumpstart her heart into hyper drive.

‘They’ve come for me; I knew I should have left as soon as I got the chance! Oh God, I don’t want to hurt anyone, PLEASE don’t make me hurt anyone!’ She thinks frantically, trying to keep the vectors at bay. Despite her inner turmoil, she is trying to remain cool, calm, and collected for the sakes of everyone in the room.

 “Barton?” Stark asks with familiarity to the leader of the group.

“Stark, Banner.” He nods to the two of them, “Sorry to barge in like this, but we have orders to--”

“--You know them?” Elise asks breathlessly, no longer able to remain calm, “But, I trusted you two…” she starts to say but gets choked up by overwhelming feelings of fear and betrayal.

In her head there is an onslaught of thoughts, mercilessly berating her. ‘This is why people cannot be trusted. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted them. People will always betray me. I can’t trust anyone. Now they’re going to take me. I’ll never see the light of day again. They’re going to kill me.’

She collapses onto herself on the floor when she feels them come out again “Shit, no, please don’t do this. God, make it stop!”

Everyone in the room takes one step forward at the sounds of her cries, but is immediately halted by her yells.

“STOP! Stay away from me! Don’t come any closer! Go away, just GO AWAY!” she manages to get out amid her hyperventilating.

One agent steps out of formation and begins to slowly walk towards Elise’s balled up body with his hands up.

“Agent, get back into formation.” Barton says in a stern tone.

“No, no, it’s okay, she’s only having a panic attack, my sister used to get them all the time. I know how to handle them.” He says back to his leader before further approaching the young woman, “Hey, can you hear me? Everything is going to be okay. Alright? You just need to breathe, nice and slowly, alright?” He speaks calmly towards her.

“No, don’t come closer, I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Please.” She whispers almost inaudibly.

“Listen, you’re going to be okay, breathe with me, listen to my deep breaths.” He says, only a few feet away from her.

“Agent.” Barton says again in a stern, warning tone, trying to call him back.

Ignoring his supervisor, he continues to approach. “It’s okay, just breathe.” The agent says while reaching out to touch her shoulder.

Elise looks up to him with tears in her eyes. “No” She gasps in a small, frightened tone.

Everything that happened afterwards felt like it was happening in slow motion. All of the vectors reached out to do an action at once. One of her vectors morph into a pointed shape, launches forward, and stabs the man. Another two snap forward and strike the poor soul sending him flying across the room, while the rest of them make a shield in front of her.

In the background she can hear someone yell “Fire” but she can’t take her eyes off of the man lying across the floor, blood flowing freely from his body. She’s staring at the body in horror, ‘I did this. I caused this. It’s my fault he’s laying there. He’s probably dead because of me. Why must I keep hurting people? I don’t want to hurt people anymore. I just want to go away.’ She chastises herself internally, completely ignoring what is going on around her. Little does she know the kind of danger she is in.

……

 

The agents are shooting at her with their handheld guns but to their dismay, every single bullet is getting stopped by an unknown force. After a moment of deliberation, Barton takes one of the guns, aims it straight at the ceiling and shoots a couple of shots. The bullets hit the ceiling, then ricochets back down at an angle towards Elise. One of them hits her in the back, bypassing the vectors altogether. With that, all the firing stops, and everyone in the room stills. The look on Elise’s faces begins at shock, but ends with acceptance, almost like she is hoping this will be the end. She drops unceremoniously on the floor, bringing with it an eerie calm.

“I’m sorry, can someone explain to me what just happened?” Stark asks, completely dumbfounded at the bizarre situation.

“We have orders to capture her.” Barton replies in a disinterested tone.

“And so you shoot her?” Banner asks, blatantly pointing out the inconsistencies in the situation.

“These are guns fitted with special bullets that knock the target out without harming them,” Barton says while tapping on one of the pistols, “she’ll be completely fine. Although, that’s more than I can say for my agent over there…”

The three men watch as a small group of S.H.I.E.L.D medics ferry their wounded comrade to the helicarrier. The rest of the agents begin to file out, following the medical staff in concern for their teammate. The three’s attention shifts back to the unconscious woman sprawled on the floor.

“What are you going to do with her?” Banner asks with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“Our official orders were simply to take her in, I don’t know exactly what’ll happen to her after that.” Barton responds.

Both Stark and Banner share a look of concern for Elise. Although they haven’t known her long, they still feel a sense of responsibility for the little one. With their conversation over and time ticking away until the tranquilizer wears off, Barton hoists Elise up on his shoulder and carries her limp body with him towards the helicarrier with the rest of his agents.

Both Banner and Stark share a look.

“I don’t trust them.” Banner comments, glancing towards the elevator.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Trigger Warning*

Unknown Location

 

She can feel it, she can feel THEM. There are hands everywhere, caressing, squeezing, gripping, leaving her with a film of disgust over her skin. Regardless of how she screams or thrashes the hold only gets tighter. It’s a dream, she knows it’s only a dream, but that doesn’t negate her fears in the moment. In her mind, there is no distinction between reality and nightmares; they’re both equally real, and equally dangerous. The enemy not only lives in the outside world, more often than not, it lives inside gnawing away until death do you part.

 

Years of running have solidified her understanding of her own demons. There is no reasoning with them, there is no rationale to suppress them, and there is no getting away from them. She has come to terms that there is no escaping from this toxic relationship; after all, why fight a losing battle?

 

The hands are gripping and clawing at her body spastically; all over, one pair grips a part of her body as another pair releases her. Amid her struggling, she is able to fight off the hands holding both wrists and ankles, but just then the hands suddenly still in a moment of eerie, disconcerting calm. In an organized fashion they all clamp down from the bottom up rendering her motionless. The arms are vice like grips on her body as any motion is rendered futile. One sharp hit from an unknown source brings a wall of darkness swiftly descending on Elise’s mind bringing with it a dark veil of nothingness.

 

…………..

 

Several Days Later, Stark Tower

 

“Sir, its S.H.I.E.L.D, they seem to be intercepting my telecommunication-“ JARVIS reports to both Stark and Banner before another voice interrupts.

 

 “-Stark, Banner, we need you at headquarters. There is a helicarrier en route to your destination. I’ll have an agent escort you to the conference room when you arrive.” Fury curtly states before hanging up.

 

Both bristle slightly at the rudeness and arrogance of Fury, but are ultimately won over by curiosity.

 

“What do you think he wants?” Banner asks cautiously.

 

Stark shrugs noncommittally, “Only one way to find out.”

 

Although left unsaid, both knew immediately it had something to do with Elise. While unwilling to admit it to each other, let alone themselves, the truth of the matter was that they cared about that little one. Call it paternal instincts if you will, but their brief time together impacted them more than they would have ever imagined.

 

After a brief trip on the helicarrier, both agents are greeted by a young, overenthusiastic male agent trying his best not to appear unprofessional. “Mr. Tony Stark, Mr. Bruce Banner, it’s so GREAT to meet you. Ah, uhmm,” He takes a moment to clear his throat to reign in his inner fan-boy and regain his self-respect, “If you could please follow me, uhh, please, I can show you to Director Fury. This way please.” He shakily thrusts his hand out to indicate the direction they’re about to walk.

 

Stark and Banner start walking, then look back at the young agent, patiently waiting for him to realize they don’t know where to go. When he realizes his mistake, the agent fixes his uniform and quickly walks ahead with bright red cheeks attempting to ignore the humorous look in their eyes. “Ah, uh sorry, this way please.” He rushes.

 

The three don’t exchange any further words. Both Banner and Stark are rapt within their minds, anticipating the exact topic of this meeting. They both have been concerned for Elise’s safety since she was taken. Something about the combination of no explanation, her mysterious powers, and Hydra’s interest in her, left a bad taste in their mouths.

 

They arrive at a large conference room fitted with a singular, enormous mahogany table centered in the room with only a couple of oversized plush leather chairs surrounding it. Sitting at the head of the table is Fury with several electronic tablets strewn in front of him. Making eye contact with them both, Fury waves them in and taps the table twice, seemingly activating something. The little agent takes Fury’s gesture as a cue and excuses himself, shutting the door behind him. The mahogany table top transforms to a large computer screen displaying the tablets’ information in front of Fury on a larger screen for all to see. Stark and Banner move inward to get a closer look at the information.

 

“This is Elise Ann Parker, born 20 June 1992, held on suspicion of arson at the age of 16 but was released shortly afterwards. I need your help recruiting her to join S.H.I.E.L.D.” Fury states, getting straight to the point.

 

“Why?” Banner calmly asks.

 

“She _needs_ this organization’s help.” Fury says with emphasis on ‘needs’.

 

“I’m sorry, she was shot and kidnapped by the same organization that now wants to ‘help’? Explain to me your logic in that situation.” Stark quips with an eyebrow raised.

 

“We aren’t the _only_ organization that wants her. Just before she was picked up by us, she was targeted by a HYDRA agent. That wasn’t the first time she’s been targeted and it certainly won’t be the last. Her powers have made her a potential asset for every single terrorist organization here in the United States and abroad.”

 

Both fall silent while their minds connect the pieces of Elise’s reactions in the kitchen and this new information.

 

Fury uses the computer table top to slide a video surveillance tape towards them. The video shows Elise sprawled on a bed with her wrists and feet restrained. A nurse walks in, but is thrown off her feet when Elise starts to struggle. In seconds armored agents flood in the room and rush around the bed to restrain her. The guards surrounding her are thrown across the room one by one while the restraints are mysteriously ripped away; freeing the still sleeping Elise. The one-sided battle between the guards and the invisible enemy lasts for several minutes. The leader shouts to his agents and they all collectively grip onto her, pinning her to the bed. In a gesture of desperation, the nurse grabs a needle and swiftly stabs Elise, causing the room to become still once again.

 

 “Something similar happened when she was at the tower, what is causing the guards to get thrown?” Banner asks not able to look away from the footage

 

Before Fury could answer, Stark cuts in, “I had JARVIS analyze the footage when S.H.I.E.L.D barged into my kitchen. Apparently she has vectors, for lack of better term.  They come out of her and can physically touch things, yet are transparent to the naked eye.”

 

Banner and Fury look at Stark with confusion at the information he’s provided.

 

Stark rolls his eyes and answers the question posed on their faces, “Put the footage through a thermal lens.” Stark motions to the security video. “Whatever is attacking your agents has a heat signature. From the moment they come out of Elise they read about the same temperature as her. Now for the questions of how and why, I have no idea. You took her before I could collect any more information.”

 

Stark turns his nose up and crosses his arms with a smirk, feeling confident about his analytical abilities.

 

Fury rolls his eye at his cockiness. “That footage was from the day before yesterday. She has recovered from the sedatives, however she is refusing both food and water and no one can get close enough to actually speak to her without getting thrown across the room. If there is anyone who she trusts, it would be you both.”

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that…” Banner comments under his breath.

 

“Your agents barging in and kidnapping her has probably eliminated all sense of trust that kid may or may not have felt.” Stark clarifies Banner’s comment, the accusation apparent in his voice.

 

“Let’s hope you’re wrong. As of right now, this is our best option and her only chance at a life.” Fury states gravely.

 

A moment of silence passes between the three men, only to be broken up by the sound of the door behind them opening. An agent, an older woman, arrives and motions for both Banner and Stark to follow her.

 

With a nod, Fury dismisses them, and they’re on their way to Elise’s confinement room.

 

 “Here it is.” The woman agent states, devoid of emotion. “We’ll be right outside should you need back-up.”

 

Both Banner and Stark nod to the agent and head inside the holding room. The whole room is a dark grey color with padding on the walls for both safety and soundproofing. The room has the feeling of a jail cell with no windows and only a single door. The furniture is sparse, as the room only features a bed in the corner and a toilet.

 

Lying on top of the bed curled up with her back to the door is Elise. The two men cautiously approach the bed, close enough to talk however far enough to not get hit should she decide to attack.

 

                                                                                                      …………………………………….

 

‘Why am I here?’ Elise thinks to herself, ‘I only let my guard down for one second, and here I am. And all for what, pancakes? So stupid. Who knows what they’ll do to me. Dissection. Torture. Medical testing. That’s probably what they’ll do. No, I’ll end it all before I let them touch me. I’m just so… Tired.’

 

“Elise?” Banner calls out softly.

 

Elise flinches at the sound of his voice. Of everyone she doesn’t want to speak to, Banner is pretty high on that list. After all, he was one of the people who helped put her in this prison. “Stay away, I don’t want to speak to you.” She mutters towards the wall.

 

“Tough luck kid, we’re here to stay until you hear us out.” Stark replies.

 

Hooray, the other one is here too. “What’s the point? You’ve caught me. Mission accomplished. I see no point in formalities.”

 

 “Elise, we didn’t know that S.H.I.E.L.D was going to take you, we didn’t know that they were even coming.” Banner tries to convince her.

 

Elise doesn’t even grace his statement with a response. They expect her to believe that both Iron Man and Bruce Banner, two of the front men for the S.H.I.E.L.D organization, weren’t aware of the plan to kidnap her IN THE HOUSE OF TONY STARK. They obviously thought she was an idiot because no sane person would believe that story.

 

Stark tries for a different tactic. “How long have you been running from agents?” Elise tenses at that statement. ‘ _Far too long’_ , she thinks to herself. Stark continues after a brief pause, ”The fact of the matter is you need an agency or better yet, friends, to protect you. Clearly running by yourself isn’t working out for you.”

 

She curls up tighter into herself unconsciously attempting to comfort herself. “Why?” She asks softly in a confused broken tone. Although brief, the question was clear, why were they so insistent on helping her. Why did her life matter so much to them?

 

“Because you were at the right place at the right time.” Stark repeats reminding Elise of their previous conversation.

 

“We want to help you, let us.” Banner finishes.

 

Elise rolls over to gauge their sincerity. Sitting up, she tries to deliberate her next move. ‘They don’t seem to be lying, I guess that has to count for something.’ A voice in the back of her head comes to the forefront, ‘Of course they’re lying, why else would they want to help you? There are ALWAYS hidden motives. This ‘I just want to help you’ bullshit only happens in the movies.’ She audibly sighs agreeing with her inner cynic, why can’t people just stay away? ‘Okay, game plan. If I stay here, there is no chance of escape. If I go with them, I have a higher chance of escaping. Two can play a game of pretend.’

 

She makes eye contact with both of them with a determined look on her face, “Okay.”

 

Both seem slightly taken aback, but smiles tug at their lips. They almost look… relieved.

 

…………………………..

 

Stark Tower

 

Elise struggles to keep up with Stark, her petite legs not quite matching his long strides. Apparently working for S.H.I.E.L.D also entails free room and board courtesy of Stark Industries.

 

“You’ve already been acquainted with the kitchen,” Stark motions to his left, “there’s also a lounging area down the hall, wet bar included.” Stark abruptly stops, causing Elise to slam her face into his back. “Oh wait, how old are you again?”

 

Elise leaps back with a squeak, heart slamming against her rib cage, putting some much needed distance between them again. She rubs her smarting face and tries to calm her heart, still beating five times too fast. Elise begrudgingly answers, “Legal age.”

 

“Twenty two, right? I think I have scotches that are twice your age.” Stark muses as he continues his tour.

 

They get onto an elevator heading towards one of the higher floors. “From this floor,” he points to the elevator buttons, “to this floor, it’s all R&D. If you ever need Banner or me, we’ll probably be on one of them.”

 

Elise looks at the amount of floors and gives him a slight scowl, ‘Yeah, because that narrows it down.’

 

Stark gives her a smirk in response making it seem as if he heard her mental dialog.

 

They arrive at her designated floor and she takes a moment to assess her surroundings. The wide hall has the feel of an elegant hotel room with only two doors, both on opposite sides of each other. At the end of the hall is a single full length window which allows the light to filter into the area and give a glimpse of the breathtaking view outside.

 

Stark opens the door on the left and shoves it open all the way before stepping back, allowing plenty of room for Elise to enter. She walks in cautiously, only to be taken off guard by the beauty. In typical Stark fashion, one of the walls is made solely of a single window allowing plenty of light and a sky scraper’s view of the city below. The whole room is decorated with a beige and powder blue color pallet, giving it a calming yet playful sophistication. Sitting in the center of the room lies a single queen sized bed with sheer tulle draped over the frame of the canopy and numerous throw pillows uniting the colors of the room. She walks in, pleasantly surprised to find herself standing on a plush rug cushioning her feet. To her left there is a door leading to a full bathroom and to her right a walk in closet filled to the brim with clothes and shoes.

 

Stark stands just inside the door way leaning on the frame smiling delighted at her reaction.

 

Still a bit in shock, Elise reaches out a hand to stroke the bed only to halt mid way. The contrast between the crisp, clean sheets and her filthy fingers serves as a reminder of her place in the world. She doesn’t belong here. She doesn’t deserve to be here. The only reason she is here is to escape.

 

Gripping her hand in a tight ball, she returns it back to her side. ‘Right,’ she thinks to herself, ‘this was only a means for escape, this is not your home. I lost the right to have a home long ago. Get out of that prison and then escape. Stick to the plan.’

 

Stark notices her drastic shift in emotion. He lifts an eyebrow but figures she’s just exhausted and feeling dirty. “This room is yours to do as you please. There are plenty of clothes and whatnot in the closet, as well as toiletries in the bathroom. I’m actually not sure where most of it came from now that I think about it… Oh well. When you get done cleaning up and settling in, ask JARVIS and he’ll lead you to dinner.”

 

Without making eye contact, she nods in acknowledgement and then he leaves her.

 

She sinks to the floor, collapsing onto herself tightly gripping her sides desperately trying to prevent herself from falling apart. She knows this is all an elaborate act, she knows this is only her escape route, but damn, what she wouldn’t give for this to be real. To have people who care, to have a home, to have a normal life. Once upon a time, she used to have all this, until she had to mess it all up.

 

‘No.’ she thinks to herself, ‘I can fall apart later. Right now I need to focus. I need to get cleaned up and something to eat. I should take full advantage of the situation.’

 

Taking a deep breath she hauls herself off the floor and heads into the bathroom for a nice, long shower. She stays under the stream with her back towards the spray just watching the brown water start to turn clear. She can feel years of tension and filth being stripped away layer by layer. Finding soaps and shampoos, she lathers them on her body and relishes the feeling of being clean. She walks out of the shower and feels lighter as the outer layer of faux skin she was carrying has been scrubbed off. Glancing down, she finds a hair brush sitting on the sink and gets to work detangling the rat’s nest that is her hair.

 

Elise emerges from the bathroom feeling like a completely different person. She heads into the closet to finish her transformation. Rifling through the mass amounts of clothing for an appropriate size is far more difficult than she anticipated, however she eventually finds a pair of simple dark wash blue jeans and a long sleeve shirt that sags slightly due to being a size or two bigger. Before walking back into the main room, she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her skin has a clean glow to it, featuring a light smattering of freckles on her slightly tanned complexion. Her wavy auburn hair shining, successfully tamed and lying softly along her shoulders. But the biggest difference are her eyes, the blue in them seemed to sparkle like a crystal blue lake verses the dark grey she had been used to seeing.

 

With bare feet, she pads back to the room, ready for food. “Uhm, Jarvis?” She calls out to the AI, hoping he would hear and that she’s not just speaking to the ceiling.

 

“How may I help you today Ms. Parker?” The AI asks politely.

 

“Eli is fine, would you mind telling me where dinner is? I was told to ask you after I had showered.” She stats to the wall, still feeling awkward about conversing with a robot.

 

“Certainly Ms. Eli, if you head to the elevator I will bring you to the correct floor.”

……

 

Back in her ‘room’ with a full stomach, Elise plops herself down on the fluffy mattress and stretches her legs out, a triumphant feeling spreading across her body. A broad smile creeps across her face. It’s been far too long since she’s felt this young and carefree.

 

It’s amazing what a day of pampering can do to one’s psyche. Years of stress and worry seems to have just melted away. All from a simple shower, clean clothes, warm food, and a nice bed. ‘I could get used to this.’ The smile plastered on her face soon fades as one thought travels to the forefront of her mind, ‘I don’t belong here.’ She lets the top half of her body fall onto the mattress and rests an arm over her face. She should be used to this already; it’s her destiny to be alone. This life was the one she created herself; after all, it was her own fault that her family died.

 

She reaches in her pockets and takes stock of the food she’s pilfered for her impending trip.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Possible Trigger Warning*

A slight beeping noise rouses Elise from her slumber. With ease and grace, she jumps out of bed and turns off the offending alarm clock; no need to alert the whole tower of her plan. In red letters, 230am reads the clock, shining bright enough to cast an eerie red glow to the room. With nimble fingers, Elise pries the door open and slips out without a sound. Standing before the elevator, she takes a breath and prays it isn’t loud enough to wake anyone. The ‘ding’ chimes making her cringe and roll her eyes, ‘Of all floors not to have stairs…’

She hops in and presses the floor just above the long row of research and development floors Stark so kindly pointed out to her. As she descends, Elise once again goes over her escape plan. ‘If I get off just above the R&D floors, I can avoid the elevator alerting them, and then I can take the stairs to the first floor where I should be able to slip out without trouble.’ She nods her head in approval of this solid plan.

The elevator’s chime signals the continuation of her plan. Jogging swiftly and silently, she rounds acorner that leads to the stairs only to be stopped face-first by a glowing force. A piercing shriek erupts from her mouth when her eyes adjust to the large human figure standing before her. On the floor, she is crawling backwards trying to escape until the form releases a voice. A male voice.

She is mentally transported back to _that_ day. Heartbeat slamming in her ears, the silent night has become deafeningly loud. “Don’t TOUCH ME!!” She screams trying to drown out her fears, “DON’T COME NEAR ME!!”

_It’s dark. They’ve thrown a pillow over her head to muffle her screams. There are hands everywhere on her body, making her feel filthy; some grip, others slap, a few grope. No amount of struggling or screaming helps, the reality of the situation sets in; this body is no longer yours to control._

She curls into herself feeling completely defenseless. ‘No one is going to help you, no one is going to protect you.’ The vile thoughts swirl around her head further fueling her panic. Her breaths are coming in tiny violent gasps, making her head feel like it’s swimming through honey. It feels as if a hand is constricting her heart, which in turn is making her heart slam against the invisible vice at supersonic speeds. Limbs have gone numb, yet they won’t stop shaking.

“Elise!” A familiar voice starts to break through to the darkness surrounding her consciousness, “Elise! Eli, you need to breathe. Take a breath for me little one.”

Typically in her nightmares, the voices take pleasure in dragging her to the depths of her mind, finding a sick sadistic pleasure in her terror, but not this one. This voice has warmth to it. It almost seems… Troubled at her distress.

She obeys the soft command and inhales a shaky breath before letting it go again. “That’s it, very good. Take another breath for me.” This time, the voice brings with it a warm soothing feeling against her cheek.

Slowly, Elise begins to regain control of her body. She leans into the warmth caressing her face, trying to draw out strength from the feeling. When her breathing and heart rate come back down to human standards, she slowly opens her eyes reacquainting herself to reality. But sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.

Elise is lying on the floor, curled onto herself. Stark is kneeling at her side partly covered in his Iron Man suit with his hand over her cheek slowly stroking her with his thumb. When they make eye contact, Stark seems to be searching her eyes for consciousness, “Welcome back to reality kid, how are you feeling?”

“Fine. Uhm, thanks.” She whispers awkwardly as Stark helps her sit up.

Confusion circles around her brain, why isn’t he being attacked? Usually when people, especially men, get close the vectors come out and start their assault. A glance at his wounded face, chest, and suit reveals her answer.

Elise scoots back to rest her back against a wall as a precautionary measure and Stark backs up allowing her to gain some distance. Looking around the room, Elise can see the damage caused by her vectors. She props her elbows onto her drawn up knees and cradles her head in shame. “I’m sorry about your hall… And your face.” She says with a shaky voice.

“I needed to redecorate this floor anyway.” Stark says lightheartedly, then his voice picks up a more somber tone, “You want to tell me why you were planning on skipping town?”

“I wasn’t…” Elise started to explain but was halted by Stark’s raised eyebrow. “How did you know?”

“I had JARVIS tighten house security when I saw you stashing food during dinner. I figured you were either about to run or preparing to hibernate for the winter, one of the two.”

She just didn’t get it; why is he so concerned about her? This is supposed to be a trick from the organization. So why do his actions seem so sincere?

“How can I trust you? How do I know that this is real and not some elaborate ruse?” She asks with the confusion apparent in her voice.

Stark sighs, “Sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith.”

Elise takes a breath. Maybe… Just maybe she can trust them. No one else would be so patient with a pawn, especially after being attacked. If he had ulterior motives he wouldn’t care so much. Maybe, she could find a place to exist in this new life.

It was then that Elise finally realized that Stark was only in his PJ bottoms. She frowns. “Who wears only PJ pants to bed…?” She asks, unknowingly out loud. Her eyes grow wide and she covers her mouth trying to take back the inner comment that slipped out.

“You’re lucky I’m even wearing pants.” Stark states with a cocky grin.

She gives him a disapproving scowl at the thought.

Stark only grins wider, “Go to bed kid.”

…………………………………………………………………….

Next Day Stark Tower, Infirmary

“Ahh-Haaah! What are you using, a Brillo pad!?” Stark yells out from behind his iPad, disapproving at Banner’s rough treatment.

“Hold still. You jerking around is only going to make it take longer.” Banner explains with a sigh.

Elise peeks around the corner of the hanging curtain. After going back to her room last night, she couldn’t sleep from the guilt gnawing away at her conscience. She just needed to make sure that he was alright. It’s weird though, when her vectors came out and started attacking, usually they wouldn’t stop until someone died. Why they left Stark in one piece is… curious.

Catching a glimpse of an Elise shaped shadow, Stark announces to the room. “You know, if I would have known you were into voyeurism, I would have invited some friends.”

Elise blushes from head to toe and reveals herself from behind the curtain. Both Banner and Stark give her a warm grin.

Banner looks over Elise from a distance and gives a little scowl at her off-colored complexion. “Is everything alright?”

“I just… I just needed to make sure that… everyone… was alright from last night…” Elise sputters at the floor.

A realization dawns on Banner that Elise was probably just feeling guilty at what her ‘other side’ did last night. Lord knows he could relate to the feeling. “Elise,” Banner calls out after getting an idea to help quell her guilt, “would you mind helping me over here? It seems my patient isn’t being particularly cooperative today.”

Elise takes a moment to think over her options. While she isn’t particularly fond of being physically close to the two of them, she knows that helping may ease some of the remorse churning in her gut. Elise gives Banner a curt nod and walks towards the two of them stopping about an arm’s length away.

Banner holds out a metallic bowl filled with gauze drenched with antiseptic, encouraging Elise to grab hold, “If you can hold this for me please, I can show you what to do.”

On shaky legs, Elise pulls herself forward to grasp the bowl. ‘I can do this. Everything is fine. The vectors aren’t coming out and I’m not being attacked. I’m fine, everyone is fine.’ Elise mentally encourages herself.

“So you’re going to take the gauze and swipe around the area until clean, like this.” Banner works on Stark’s chest. “Got it? Here, I’ll hold the bowl for you.”

Elise hands the bowl back, then switches places with Banner. She stares at the marks left on Stark’s chest. Marks that she made. She could have killed him. This was her fault.

“Elise.” Banner calls, startling Elise, “Remember to breathe; I don’t want you passing out.”

“Right.” Breathing, a normal bodily function, may not want to neglect that one. She shakes her head, trying to clear out the thoughts. ‘I can do this. I’m already this close to them and I’m still fine, they’re still fine.’

With shaky hands, Elise reaches out and grabs a gauze pad, then proceeds to swipe at the gashes on Stark’s chest.

Unbeknownst to Elise, both men are looking down at her with poorly concealed smiles plastered on their faces. They felt a sense of accomplishment at how much progress she was able to achieve in such a short amount of time.

With all the wounds properly cleaned and dressed, Stark hopped off the table. “Thanks kid. Bruce, you can probably learn a few things about proper wound treatment from Eli here.”

Banner just rolls his eyes and shakes his head at him, “Thanks for helping Elise.”

Elise smiles at the both of them, then excuses herself feeling far better than when she initially came in. ‘Maybe, taking a leap of faith isn’t such a bad idea. Maybe I can find a place in this new life.’

……………………..

With her mind set on staying, Elise spent the next few weeks getting used to both Banner and Stark and exploring her new home, although, not as much as she’d like. Her schedule mostly consisted of rigorous training periods and eating massive amounts of calories. According to Fury, she needed to become “in peak physically shape in order to join her fellow agents”, which apparently involves mass quantities of protein, rigorous running sessions, weight lifting, and a sparring instructor.

Running was one of the exercises Elise was surprised to find out she actually enjoyed. It seems that running for your life is an entirely different experience than running for fitness purposes. There was something relaxing about running that soothed the soul. Getting lost in the rhythmic thumping of your own feet hitting the ground mixed with distant sounds of your own breathing has its own little weird way of leeching out all the accumulated stress and negativity in your body. The euphoric high following it doesn’t hurt either. The time spent with the sparring instructor on the other hand, that was an entirely different story.

Elise is standing, bent over with her gloved hands propping herself up on her thighs, heaving, attempting to catch her breath. Standing behind the suspended punching bag, steadying it, is her instructor… Joe, James, Jessie… Elise couldn’t quite remember; his name was something along those lines.

“C’mon Elise, get up. I want you to do five more reps. but this time I want you to watch your stance, it’s making your kicks sloppy.” The instructor barks out.

From her position, she flashes him a dirty look. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, is my lack of oxygen bothering you? Do excuse my rudeness.’ A glint of mischief sparkles in her eyes, ‘I’ll set him straight…’ With a determined look in her eye, Elise quickly straightens up, gives two quick punches, kicks the bag with one leg, swivels around, and finally swings her leg to kick the bag with as much force as she can muster. The action effectively catches the instructor off-guard making him stagger.

Before she is able to celebrate her minor victory, the instructor comes storming over with a pissed off expression on his face. Elise grits her teeth and takes a giant step back putting way more than enough distance between the irate trainer and herself should anything happen. “What is your problem!? Just because you’re Fury’s new pet project, it doesn’t give you the right to disrespect ME! If it weren’t for all your connections I wouldn’t have to be here at this God damned waste of time!” He screams at her. “And tell me something, why are you so fucking special? Last time I checked, an agent in training doesn’t get home visits from senior agents who have a real job!”

Stark storms over, seemingly from nowhere, looking as if he’s about to murder. “I wouldn’t count on having that ‘real job’ for long. Out. Now.” Stark growls at the instructor.

Looking five shades too pale, the instructor scurries away, a tail almost visibly tucked between his legs.

Stark closes the distance between Elise and himself slowly. “Hey, are you alright?” he asks while gently touching her elbow in a paternal manner.

Elise gives him a small smile at the kind gesture but pulling away slightly still feeling unsure of physical contact, “Yup, I’m fine. Sticks and stones and all that good stuff. More importantly, where’d you come from?” Elise asks genuinely curious.

Stark raises an eyebrow trying to determine if she’s telling the truth or not.

Elise sighs, “No really, I’m fine. The dude was a complete douche and I’ve heard much worse. Now if he were to start touching me this would be a completely different situation…” Elise finishes somberly at the end. Trying to raise the mood up again she asks a burning question she has, “But seriously, how do you keep appearing out of thin air?”

Stark smiles at her inquisition, “I’ve told you, JARVIS runs the house for me. He reports any noteworthy happenings to me, including douchy trainers. Now go get showered, lunch is downstairs.”

“Hooray, more protein.” Elise says under her breath with a sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

SHEILD Headquarters

With each person walking by, Elise gives them a wide berth attempting to completely avoid any bodily contact with them. “How long do we have to stay here…?” Elise asks tensely, still feeling nervous from her last nightmarish visit.

“Not long. Fury said he wanted to brief both of us, so might as well see what he wants.” Stark says matter-of-factly.

Elise stops in her tracks and stares at Stark with a look of skepticism, “What do you have planned…?”

“Me!? How dare you! I would never do such a thing! I have only the purest of intentions, scout’s honor.” Stark crosses his finger over his heart.

Elise rolls her eyes and continues walking with Stark to the conference room.

At the entrance, a guard opens the door and gestures for the two of them to enter. The conference room is dimly lit and features a single table in the center with a monitor on the wall opposite to the door. When Elise’s eyes adjust to the light, she is stunned by fear. On the other side of the table are five figures, four of which are large men. She recognizes one of the figures as Barton, the man who led the squad to abduct her initially. Without thinking, she hides behind Stark and has a death grip on the bottom hem of his shirt. Stark glances back in concern until he puts together the pieces between her and Barton.

“So Fury called you all too?” Stark asks turning back towards the room.

A red haired woman responds back, “Yeah. He said he wanted to brief us all.”

Before any further dialog could take place, the screen flashes on and Fury’s face pops up. “Good afternoon.” In typical Fury fashion he skips straight to the point with no fluff in between, “As you may have guessed, another member will soon be added to the Avengers.”

Before anything else is said, both Stark and Banner share a look of disbelief and shock.

“Who is she?” asks the tall man with clipped blonde hair.

Fury looks at him confused for a second before answering. “Her name is Elise Parker. She was recently found to be a target of other organizations until S.H.I.E.L.D took her in and trained her. With more time and training regarding her powers, she will be an asset for this team. Rogers, I’d like for you to oversee her strength training. ”

With that statement, Elise rested her forehead on Stark’s back and barely withheld a sigh. Not only is she being forced into a team without a say in the matter but she is also going to have to endure another trainer. This new trainer, Rogers, looks as if he eats, breathes, and sleeps in the gym. What she would give to have the douchy trainer back; Jessie, Jack… whatever his name was. At least the old one didn’t look like he could snap her in half.

Fury continues issuing his orders, “Thor, I’d like you to help her controlling her powers. Romanoff and Barton, I’d like you two to teach her hand-to-hand combat.”

Elise’s heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Barton..? Fury expects her to be trained by the guy who KIDNAPPED AND SHOT HER!? Elise’s whole body was trembling; her breathing constricted leaving her feeling weak and lightheaded. How does Fury expect her to be in the same room alone with him, let alone allow him close enough to teach hand-to-hand combat! How can Fury expect her to trust him!?

Alerted by her trembling, Stark slightly turns to Elise, “You alright there kid?” he asks in a hushed, worried tone.

Elise shakes her head, “I…can’t… breathe!” she whispers between her tiny gasps for breath.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the team of the excitement going on in the corner of the room, they continue on with the conversation. “I’m sorry sir, but how do you expect us to work with her? We’ve never even met her, yet you expect us to train her and allow her to come with us on missions?” Rogers asks.

“I’m sorry, did I make it sound like a request? This is a direct order from your superior: You are to train her, solider.” Fury barks out with an authoritative tone leaving no room for negotiations.

“Yes sir.” Rogers grinds out from gritted teeth.

With that the screen shuts off abruptly.

“When are we even supposed to meet her anyway?” Rogers asks with a sigh.

“She’s over there, in the corner with Stark.” Barton states nonchalantly pointing to the dark corner of the room. “She came in at the same time as Stark.”

The members look at Barton with disbelief, than to the corner with the two shadowy figures. One of them presses a button and opens up the black-out blinds.

Stark has Elise by the shoulders and is looking her straight in the eyes trying to calm her down. “Listen to me, deep breaths. Feel how slow and deep my breaths are.”

Although Elise was trying to focus on Stark’s voice, she couldn’t help but overhear the others’ conversation. The only thoughts in her head were filled with panic. ‘No! I don’t want anyone to see me like this! Go away, don’t look at me! Can’t let them see my weakness. Weakness means death! Help me!’ With that Elise shut her eyes tightly and prayed that she was anywhere but there.

Little by little the blinds let in the afternoon sun into all corners of the room, revealing an empty space where Stark and Elise was a second ago. “What the…?” Barton asks in disbelief.

Slowly Elise opens her eyes but is shocked by what she sees. Surrounding both Stark and herself are her vectors. They’ve encased both of them, apparently hiding them from the others.

“Where are they?” Rogers asks looking towards the corner in confusion.

Before Elise is able to make any comment, all the strength leaves her body and her vision turns black.

“Whoa there!” Stark exclaims before catching an unconscious Elise. With Elise in his arms, he calls out to the rest of his team, “A little help would be nice.”

The rest of the team however is staring at the two of them with their jaws wide open.

………………..

Stark Tower a few hours later

“I knew she had vectors, but I had no idea that they could camouflage like that. I wonder what else they’re capable of.” Stark mumbles in revere.

All the members of the team are gathered around one of Stark’s screens located in the entertainment area of the tower. The security footage of the meeting is playing on the screen of Stark’s television.

“They’re not completely invisible.” Barton states while staring at the screen.

Everyone stops and turns around to look at Barton in a questioning manner. “What do you mean they’re not invisible?” Asks Stark, dumbfounded.

“They create a slight distortion in the air. That’s what I noticed when I first saw her.” Barton says, finally noticing the attention.

“Thor, is there anything similar to this on Asgard?” Rogers asks.

“I have not seen anything quite as connected to the caster. The only powers slightly comparable would be that of Loki’s illusions.” He states with his arms crossed with one hand on his chin.

Before any more could be discussed, the elevator doors ding at the arrival of Elise on the floor. She trudges into the room half-asleep unaware of the company gathered.

“Welcome back to the world of the living, sleeping beauty.” Stark calls out.

Before she is able to come up with a witty reply, Elise immediately shrinks at the sight of her ‘teammates’ from earlier. This living nightmare is still in session. Noticing her paling complexion, Banner swiftly and cautiously makes his way to her side trying to steady her.

“Careful. Are you feeling okay?” Banner asks with his hand lightly touching her elbow.

Elise nods slightly. “What happened?” She whispers to Banner not being able to recall the last few hours after she passed out.

Movement from the direction of the others steals Elise’s attention before receiving her answer. Rogers marches towards Elise with an authoritative manner. He thrusts his hand towards Elise and introduces himself, “Steve Rogers, pleased to meet you.” Before even getting a few feet towards her, Elise jumps back, nonverbally warning him to stay away.

“Hi.” Elise calls back with a slight nod, the worry apparent in her face.

Rogers takes his hand back with a slight scowl on his face regarding Elise’s overreaction. Forever the responsible captain, however, Rogers shakes it off and continues on with team introductions. “This is Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton, your fellow teammates.”

Elise grips onto Banner’s arm instinctively when Barton’s name is mentioned. Of all the people she had no interest of seeing again, he was pretty high on the list. Remembering her manners, Elise gives a quick ‘hello’ in their general direction.

Elise was content to have that be the end of it, but Barton stands up and starts walking over. Immediately her heart goes into hyper drive and her thoughts run right alongside it. ‘Stay away, stay away, stay away!! Don’t let the vectors come out just breathe. Relax, everything is fine.’ Elise thinks in a panic.

Sensing her weariness, Barton stops about a foot behind where Rogers is standing. He raises his hands in a surrendering position to show her he is no threat. “Listen, I’m sorry I frightened you, I was just following orders.”

Although terrified, Elise’s sarcasm was still fully functional. ‘If that isn’t the shittiest apology….’I’m sorry we shot you, kidnapped you, and locked you in a cell, but it wasn’t our fault, we were only following orders.’ Does that even count as an apology?’ Unknowingly, while Elise’s inner monolog was ranting, she had a scowl on her face in response to Barton. Both Banner and Stark started chuckling at the translation they were able to decipher from Elise’s look. Knowing she was caught by the two scientists, Elise turned a bright shade of red which only seemed to make them laugh harder. The others, however, were in complete confusion at what had just transpired.

“So,” Elise asks Rogers, trying to ignore the laughing buffoons, “when do we start training?”

“The sooner the better. Tomorrow morning bright and early in the gym.”

She hides her grimace this time with a slight nod. ‘Nice to know we’re starting hell early in the morning.’


	6. Chapter 6

It’s been about three weeks since starting the rigorous training with the Avengers… Word truly cannot express how much the douchy trainer is missed. His training sessions had nothing on the ones Rogers planned for her. Sometimes she wonders if Rogers forgets that she is only human without any particular affinity towards athletics.

Her mornings start with an hour run then a session of lifting weights with Rogers. Those sessions successfully leave her muscles feeling like jelly. Thor then exhausts her brain by attempting to teach her how to gain control over her vectors; which is starting to feel like a huge waste of time. Her next training is hand-to-hand combat with Romanoff and Barton to drain the last of her energy. Thankfully, Romanoff is her main coach, for lack of better title, physically sparing with Elise showing her exactly how to enact defensive and offensive moves while Barton stands off to the side offering tips on how to improve. By the time that these lessons are finished, it is already evening time; which brings us to the present point in time.

Elise is sprawled on the floor on top of her fuzzy, plush carpet devoid of any energy. Typically, her bed would be the first place she chose to lay on, however she was still in her sweaty gym clothes and she didn’t want to soil the bed spread.

Elise tries to get up but groans at her protesting muscles, apparently they’ve had enough for today. She lets out a frustrated sigh at her lack of energy. Reaching up, she grabs a blanket from the bed and snuggles in for the night. Given her history, this isn’t the worst place she’s had to sleep, in comparison this is a five star hotel; well a billionaire’s skyscraper if we’re being literal.

She closes her eyes for a second and starts to drift to sleep, but is startled awake by a pillow being thrown on her face. Elise rolls her eyes; the only person who would sneak into her room just to throw a pillow would be Stark. As she tries to remove the pillow from her face, Elise notices she can’t move her arm. She tries to move the other arm only to find that it’s also being held by an invisible vice. Shit. She tries to move any part of her body only to find that it’s also being forced down.  Her heart is slamming against her ribcage bile rising in her throat; this scene is far too familiar. The pillow is snatched away to reveal her worst nightmare.

Surrounding her body are a group of faceless men pinning her down with no hope of escape. There is an eerie calm until she notices a pair of familiar eyes in the background looking over the scene. A glimmer of hope starts to grow in her chest, ‘Finally, I’m safe!’ That hope is instantly dashed by one simple phrase, “Go ahead, have at her.” Without hesitation, the men start their assault on her ensnared body. Clothes are ripped away from her body and the faceless men grope, lick, and bite at her exposed flesh.

Movement in the corner rips her gaze towards the side of the room. Lying in a pool of his own blood lays the agent her vectors stabbed to death. He slightly raises his head, hair soaked in blood slowly dripping down his face, “Why? Why did you kill me? I was just trying to help you. I had a family, you know. Why did you have to kill me?”

 In a split second, he crawls in an unnatural position straight to her face, “WHY?!”

 While the madness overwhelms her senses, a single set of hands trail up her thighs bringing to her an acute awareness of the forthcoming assault. Elise screams and thrashes wildly attempting to fight off the hands slowly creeping upwards. Just before the pair of hands reaches their intended goal, Elise jerks awake.

Elise springs towards the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach. She grips onto the sides of the bowl, tremors wracking throughout her body. ‘It was just a dream, it was just a dream…’ Through her breathing techniques, courtesy of Banner, Elise is slowly able to regain her sanity and control over her body. She gets up and glances at her disheveled self in the mirror, ‘It’s going to be a long day.’

Lumbering back into her main room, Elise is shocked to see the state it’s in. The bed frame has had chunks of wood gouged out, pillow feathers are strewn throughout the room, and the carpet has been shredded to little tufts of fluff. Raising a hand to massage her throbbing forehead she glances at the time, “3 am. Fuck, it really IS going to be a long day.” Leaving the mess to be dealt with at a later time, she heads to the gym to work off her nervous energy.

Headphones in, treadmill on the fastest setting, Elise gets lost in her head to the rhythmic thumping of her rapid pace.

‘Fuck, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a nightmare that bad.’ What gets to Elise isn’t the realistic feeling of it; it’s the fact that the nightmares are just re-runs of real situations. Situations she never wanted to relive. But this last nightmare, it featured a face she never wanted to see again.

‘Six years, six years and he’s still ruining my life. It doesn’t matter how long he’s already been gone, he’s still haunting me, dictating my every move by fear. I get no solace in the fact that he got what he deserved; that they all got what they deserved. These demons make them out to be just as real and dangerous as they were back then. But it’s over, it’s done, they’re gone.’

‘By YOUR hands.’ Her inner cynic decided to chime in, ‘Try as you’d like to cover it up or to forget about it, but you cannot erase your role. The fact of the matter is YOU did it to them; YOU killed them. That’s a sin you’ll never come back from.’

Suddenly the ground stopped moving almost making Elise slam into the front of the treadmill. Her eyes snap open just as a hand pulled out her headphones. She looks over to the offender with a glare.

Rogers is standing with his arms folded just behind Stark who is staring back at her with an irritated look on his face.

Their out of character demeanors put Elise on edge. “What’s wrong?” She asks in between breaths.

“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’? Your room looks like it went face to face with a chainsaw! What happened!?” An upset Stark asks.

The blood leaves Elise’s face, ‘Shit, he’s mad about his room being destroyed! Oh God, what am I going to do??’ Out of sheer panic, Elise quickly blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, “I’m so sorry! I’ll pay you back for everything that’s destroyed!”

“I don’t care about the room! Rogers goes in to wake you up just to find your room destroyed and you’re gone!”

‘So, he’s not mad the room’s destroyed, but he wanted to know where I was…?’ Elise’s face shows her confusion, “I’m sorry… I should have… left a note…?”

Stark sighs heavily and lets it go, sensing Elise doesn’t understand his frustration, “Well, are you okay? What the hell happened?” He asks with a calmer voice.

Memories of her dream flood back to Elise’s head and make her shudder. Not wanting to divulge anything regarding her nightmare she tries to play it off as a training accident, “Oh, umm yeah, I’m fine. It was nothing, I was just practicing with my powers. Looks like I still have a long way to go, aha.” She finishes with a nervous laugh.

They both look at her with scrutiny, not buying her excuse one bit.

Before they are able to call her on her bullshit, Elise changes the subject, “Well, since you’re already here, do you mind beginning training early? I’ve already warmed up.”

They both reluctantly drop the subject at her blatant change of topic.

As requested, Rogers starts Elise’s training early. For a change of pace, Rogers decided to make use of the punching bags instead of the weights. He shows Elise a quick jab-jab-kick pattern, alternating feet, to give her some real world strength training. She picks up the rhythm fairly quickly, enabling her to zone out at the monotony of the steps.

 ‘I just need to be stronger. I can’t control my powers because I’m not strong. I couldn’t protect myself because I wasn’t strong. All of my problems will be fixed if I just focus on becoming strong!’ The menacing voice at the back of Elise’s head starts to speak up, ‘You still remember it, don’t you?’

‘No. Stop. I don’t want to remember.’ Elise mentally scolds herself.

‘But you remember. Remember how they were touching you; how they were violating you?’

‘No!’

‘It didn’t matter how much you screamed for help, no one could hear you. But that wasn’t the worst of it, was it?’

 ‘STOP IT!!’

“Okay, let’s take a five minute breather.” Rogers says to Elise while letting go of the bag. Unbeknownst to Rogers, Elise didn’t hear a word he said, still stuck in her own head.

 ‘The thing that stung the most was the betrayal.’

“Elise?” Rogers suddenly calls out while touching her shoulder.

With no time to react, there is only one phrase in Elise’s head. ‘Too close.’

Elise jumps backwards trying to regain her sense of security, however also manages to catch her feet off-guard. Before she knows what is happening, Elise is falling straight to the ground with pains shooting straight up her ankle.

Rogers looks horrified and quickly approaches Elise trying to ensure she is alright.

The blood pounding in her ears, drowning out any words coming out of his mouth as he approaches closer and closer, “Go away, go away, go away!!” Elise nearly shrieks. Tears are blurring her vision as she can feel herself becoming lost in hysteria, limbs growing tense and jittery, heart racing, pulse pounding throughout her body. Not good.

‘Don’t come out, please God, don’t let them come out!! Breathe, I have to breathe! Why can’t I BREATHE!?’

Before she can stop anything, her vectors come out and start attacking Rogers. One of the vectors shoots out and attempt to stab Rogers, however just before making full contact Rogers is able to leap backwards to just out of reach.

Elise is trying desperately to calm herself down enough to stop the assault before the situation becomes more out of control than it already is. Her concentration is forced away to the pain radiating from her ankle, taking precedence in her mind. Miraculously within seconds the vectors start receding of their own accord.

Finally able to string together a semi-coherent sentence, Elise starts to apologize profusely, “Shit, oh fuck, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?? Shit! I didn’t mean to! God, I’m so sorry!” Elise is stumbling over her words trying to make everything alright again.

Rogers doesn’t say a word. He simply walks out of the room looking equally displeased and in deep thought.

“Fuck.” Elise says to the walls before lying on the mats.

…………………….

Hobbling back to her room using the walls as support, Elise says a silent prayer that she doesn’t run into anyone to see her in this pitiable state. Try as she might to shut out her thoughts, the one circling through her head on repeat is, ‘How was I able to stop the attack?’

Her next thought makes her halt in the middle of the hallway, ‘Pain.’ Elise looks down at her noticeably swollen ankle and considers the thought. Maybe it was the pain that made her stop. When she messed up her ankle, the pain must have been enough of a distraction to halt the vectors. 

Her concentration was broken as she passed by one of the conference rooms with its door slightly ajar. Rogers was speaking to Fury through one of the screens mounted on the walls.

“Sir, she’s a liability!” Exclaimed Rogers in a frustrated voice. “She has proven in several situations that her powers are unstable and uncontrollable. In a real world situation, she would cause more harm than good!”

“What are you suggesting?” Fury asks in a monotonous tone.

“I’m suggesting she be taken off the team.” Rogers states with no hesitation.

With that statement, her heart felt like it dropped to the floor. While it was true that she didn’t want onto the team in the first place, it did feel like she was getting to know the others well over the last few weeks. Slowly but surely she was starting to feel as if she had a place on the team and an actual home.

‘Wait… Home. What’s going to happen if I’m taken off the team? If I’m no longer with S.H.I.E.L.D that means I’ll never step foot in the Tower again. If I’m honest with myself though, I can’t be surprised with this turn of events. After all the mistakes I’ve made, it was only a matter of time before I was gone. I’ve already attacked several people involuntarily, which makes me even more of a wildcard, and I’ve caused thousands of dollars worth of damage. If anything, I should be more surprised that I’ve stayed for as long as I have. ‘Elise tries to comfort herself.

‘If that’s true, then why am I crying?’

Elise swipes away the stray tear falling down her cheek. ‘Pull yourself together.’ She scolds herself, ‘I need to clear my head.’

With that thought she heads towards the exit to walk the Manhattan streets. A large dose of nostalgia of when she first came to the city hit Elise once she started walking.

Before traveling to Manhattan, Elise lived in a rural area of North Carolina. She had lived there in that small town with her family most of her life. Just after the house fire incident in her home, the town’s whispers of what they thought happened had eventually drove her out of town. She took the last of her family’s money and ran as far as she could. She settled in Manhattan after traveling around New York for a while.

A smile started to tug on Elise’s lips as the memory of how she first met Stark and Banner crossed her mind. But sooner than it came, it left when current events came knocking on her nostalgia. A long overdue sigh passed Elise’s lips when she saw a small group of agents walking her way. ‘Time for the fireworks to begin I suppose.’

“Elise Parker, we’re going to need you to come with us.” One of the front men demanded.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” Elise snapped.

Feeling at least a little grateful that none of the agents were touching her, she let them loosely surround her and guide her to an idling SUV. ‘Apparently Fury decided getting fired was a situation worthy of a face-to-face meeting.’ She quipped to herself internally. She got into the SUV and was shocked to find that there was a man tightly positioned on either side of her.

“Now listen, I don’t mind going with you but I have some serious personal space issues with this traveling arrangement! I’m going to need you to either move or let me out.” Elise demanded.

“I’m sorry Ms. Parker, but please deal with it for now.” The agent told her with no remorse.

Feeling her heart start to race her words come out more frantically, “No seriously, I need you to let me out! I. Need. Out!” Elise demanded more firmly with her voice edging on panic.

One of the men nods to the other. Feeling slightly relieved that they’re finally listening to her, Elise takes a breath. Her relief is short lived as she feels a sharp pricking sensation on her side. She looks over to the offending party and whispers a silent curse just before her world goes black.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Trigger Warning*

Elise rouses slightly feeling like a truck has been slammed into her; repeatedly. ‘I know this feeling… They tranquilized me. Douches.’ She pries her eyes open to look at her surroundings only to have a pit form within her stomach. All around her are large rock walls reminding her of a cave. There is no natural light filtering in anywhere, the only thing allowing her to see is a small flashlight pointed on her from several feet away, too far to reach. Reaching up to her neck, she can feel something on it. Clasped onto her throat is a metal cuff an inch thick and several inches tall.  The chain of the cuff is locked to a loop embedded in a rock a few feet from where she’s sitting.

 

Her next though brings with it a feeling of dread, ‘I don’t think it was Shield that escorted me.’ Before Elise is able to fully comprehend her situation, footsteps start echoing off the walls not allowing her to pinpoint a defined direction. She backs up into the nearest rock wall hoping it’ll give her some shielding from the oncoming assault.

 

“Well, good morning! Did we have a good rest, Elise?” A mysterious voice asks sounding far too chipper.

 

Not trusting the situation, Elise decides to keep quiet and just gives the voice a scowl.

 

“Oh don’t be shy! Don’t you worry, we’ll be getting to know each other REAL well over the next few months!” The voice drops down several octaves to a menacing tone, “Take her.”

 

“No! Don’t touch ME!” Elise shrieks, her cries echoing all along the cave.

 

“Oh hush now child! You might wake the bats!” The voice chides as two men appear beside Elise.

 

One man jerks her up by the collar around her neck and the other grabs her underneath her arm to pull her forward. Elise recoils at their rough treatment. It takes her a moment, but once the realization hits she stops in shock, ‘My vectors aren’t coming out.’

 

“What have you done to me…?” Elise asks in a whisper, tears threatening to fall.

 

“Those things? We just gave you a little something so they wouldn’t ruin our fun!” Elise’s face shows the despair she feels, “Don’t you worry, we’ll have plenty of fun before S.H.I.E.L.D even realizes you’re gone!” The man finishes with a wide grin.

 

The voice turns cold once again, “Let’s go.” He barks out to the men.

 

One man is pulling her ahead by the chain wrapped around her neck while the other pushes her from behind when she lags behind. Unable to help herself, her tears fall freely as they march to God knows where, her neck being rubbed raw by the cuff and her throbbing ankle just adding to her tears. ‘They don’t know where I am, no one knows where I am. I’m stuck here until they let me go or until I… Until I die.’ She slumped forward onto herself and a feeling of defeat washed over her system. She was trapped with her only option of escape being death.

 

In her haze, Elise didn’t realize she was being led to an exam room until she was being strapped—front first—onto a metal table. The collar was secured tightly to a ring on the underside of the table effectively immobilizing Elise’s movements. Her arms and legs were also secured onto the table with a thick material that almost had the feel of a seatbelt. Struggling was absolutely futile, she didn’t even fight being strapped down. Elise just felt numb to what was going on; almost like she was an observer looking in on some poor soul’s life.

 

The next action brought Elise back to reality in a flash. A white hot pain dragging from the tip of her shoulder down to the base of her spine made her scream at the top of her lungs.

 

“Oh hush, hush now! No one likes an overly dramatic child! The voice says far too happily, “Besides,” the voice drops to a growl, “this is going to take a while.”

 

Before she has time to recover, another slice is made within her flesh on the opposite side as the first. Elise’s blood curdling screams echo throughout the small room as she struggles to get free of her shackles. No matter how she thrashes, the bindings don’t give an inch, her struggles are only met with a sadistic chuckling in the background.

 

With her heart racing and her body in fight-mode, she starts to come to grips with her new reality, ‘He’s going to kill me, I’m going to die on this table, My vectors no longer work and there is no one coming to help me. I’m going to die here.’ She thinks somberly.

 

Some commotion is happening being Elise jarring her out of her own head and bringing with it a new wave of fear threatening to smother her sanity.

 

At her reaction, the man starts laughing, “Haha! Poor thing, did you think I was done already!? We’re just getting started!!”

 

Without warning he shoves something within the gashes of her back. Another high pitched scream erupts from her with this new excruciating feeling. A white-hot tearing sensation is accompanied with the steady sound of clicking; each click bringing with it a new wave of agony. Using some type of medical instrument, the man is forcibly separating each side of her flesh; splaying it to expose the muscle beneath. She can feel the blood freely pouring down the sides of her body pooling on the floor beneath her and as a result, the room has started to reek of her own blood.

 

Just when she thought she could scream no longer or be in any more pain, the man shoves his two hands within her open back and starts to explore her inner workings. With no more strength in her body to resist or stay awake, Elise’s world starts to turn black. She doesn’t fight it; she welcomes the sweet relief of the darkness like a savior.

…………………………

 

Elise stirs from her slumber feeling as if she had gone through a blender. Caked from head to toe in a mixture of blood and dirt, she takes note of her wounds. Each breath for her is torturous; the slight movement seemingly threatening to reopen the lacerations on her back. Although she can’t see them, she can feel the stitches in her back, only just tethering each side together.

 

Gathering enough strength to look at her surroundings, Elise realizes that she is back in the cave she was held in before any of this happened. Right in front of her is a small platter of food and a bottle of water. She reaches out to grab it but gasps out in pain at the feeling of the stitches pulling at her raw skin. Taking a small breath, she steels herself for the pain then pulls the platter towards her. She unclenches her jaw and releases a piece of skin in her mouth she didn’t know she was biting.

 

As Elise tucks into her food, she takes a moment to appreciate the fucked up nature of her situation. Here she was, in some random cave, God knows where, being tortured by a sadistic bastard and all of this happened moments before she lost her home, job, and friends. ‘Even if by some miracle I do make it out alive, I don’t have anything to look forward to.’ She thought disheartened. With her meal finished and a small dose of pessimism to brood over, Elise lies back down and prays for better dreams than her reality.

…………………….

 

Days in the dungeon for Elise have gone by following a predictable, repeating pattern. The insane man comes down with his crew and makes weird, unsettling comments before ordering his men to hold her down. While she is immobile, the man proceeds to jab her with some solution, presumably something that inhibits the use of her vectors then they leave soon after, leaving a fresh tray of food. She can’t be entirely certain, but they do this once a day. If there were natural lighting filtering through, she would have a better concept of time, but she has been left in the darkness since she has been taken.

 

‘How long have I been down here?’ She thinks to herself, trying to keep herself entertained. ‘They’ve given me food at least 10 times since I’ve been here and if they do that once a day, that must mean I’ve been here at least 10 days. That long and these wounds still haven’t closed up.’ Elise reaches behind her and gingerly touches her back. She flinches back at how hot and painful it is to touch. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if it were infected. After all, I’m still covered in dried blood and not to mention all the mud.’ She sighs as her thoughts turn dark, an inevitability she has already come to terms with, ‘I’m not going to get out of this alive. They’re going to kill me, I know they will. Even if by some random chance of fate they don’t kill me, this infection will probably kill me. A nice slow and painful death to complement the fucked up life I’ve led, how appropriate.’

 

Elise lays her head down on the ground trying to get comfy despite the collar and chain. A jarring noise from across the cave disturbs her rest. She jerks her head towards to offending noise, ‘Footsteps… I hear footsteps. It’s too early, I just got my meal… What are they doing down here so early?’At that thought, Elise’s gut started to send out warning signals, ‘Oh shit. They’re here to kill me.’  
  


The footsteps have gotten close enough that she can see the flashlights illuminating their paths. When their faces come in to view her stomach completely drops. She knows that look; she’s lived through it before. That unsavory glare tells her even more than she wants to know. ‘Fuck.’  
  


The man leading the group has a nasty snarl on his face, complemented only by the ugly scar running from his brow to his chin. Elise struggles to crawl backwards into the rock wall behind her, praying it would swallow her up.   
  


“Don’t try to hide; it won’t do you any good. You can’t run and you can’t hide so there’s no use in fighting this. Might as well lay back and enjoy this.” The man finishes with a revolting wink.

 

Elise’s mind is plunged into chaos. ‘This isn’t happening! THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!!’ her mind practically screams. Her limbs are visibly trembling at the impending attack. No matter how much oxygen she pulls into her lungs, it still isn’t enough; she’s still suffocating. Gasping for air, Elise has a death grip on the rock behind her not noticing how much the rough surface is cutting into her tender back and arms. As they stalk closer, Elise shuts her eyes tightly; hoping, praying she doesn’t have to relive this repeat of a nightmare.

 

One of the men lunges at her, fiercely grabbing her by the collar around her neck and shoves her face-first into the rough ground. Her arms are forced behind her back and held tightly by one of their hands. Tears have started to run down Elise’s face at this all too familiar situation. ‘Please, please, no more.’ She tries to whisper but the words die before reaching her lips. The hands start grabbing at her clothing but at that moment Elise’s mind starts to check out to defend her fragile sanity.

 

Seemingly floating above her own body, Elise can see the whole situation unfold. The men are gathering around like rabid dogs gnawing at a wounded lamb. One man is ripping away at her clothes leaving only bits of fabric scattered on the ground. Another man is roughly handling her ass slapping and grabbing at it like a piece of meat. A third is feeling her up all over her body acting as if he hasn’t seen a woman naked before. Pathetic.

 

While this chaos is unfolding rapidly on her body, one scene in particular has gotten her attention. The scarred man has shoved her over and has lifted one of Elise’s legs. ‘No. Not again.’ Elise can feel her pulse rising again with her anger, ‘This will NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!’ His hand is trailing up her thigh with a sick self-satisfied grin on his face. ‘MAKE. IT. STOP!!’ Elise screams in her head.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning... Cause, you know... Triggers and whatnot.

Elise blinks several times but can’t quite comprehend the state of what her surroundings have turned into. Just one second ago she was surrounded by men but now the ground is entirely littered with gore. The men that were once alive and well have now become a lifeless slurry of shredded body parts and blood. She sinks to her knees as the weight of her sins engulfs her system. ‘What… What have I done..?’ Elise watches her hands in disgust as the blood of murdered men drips down to the ground with an unceremonious plop. With teary eyes, Elise futilely tries to wipe the blood off on her thighs only to find the rest of her body is also covered in a thick coating of gore.

Time seemingly slows as Elise processes what has just happened. ‘I’ve just slaughtered a group of men.’

‘They deserved it.’ A voice in her head challenges.

‘But this isn’t justice, it’s murder!’ Elise shoots back

‘They’re not innocent. They would have killed you eventually. What is it going to take for you to stand up for yourself!?’Interrupting her internal musings is a small army of solders surrounding her with their guns pointed straight at her.

Feeling a twisted, familiar sense of strength pulse into her consciousness, Elise stands up amid the men with her hands in a surrendering position.

Behind the shadows emerges the sick man who’s been experimenting on her. “Tsk, Tsk! You’ve been a naughty little girl haven’t you! Look what you’ve done to my men! Naughty girls like you get punished.” His voice drops to issue out a dark command, “Shoot her.”

Without hesitation Elise’s head snaps up and her vectors splay out to form a shield around her body. She cocks her head to the side as an abnormal grin pulls at her lips, “I’m sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you over the gun shots.” A vector retracts back to swiftly breaks the collar and chain around her neck. Elise stretches her neck back and forth to release the kinks before taking a step forward towards the ringleader, “Let’s make this conversation a little more private, shall we?”

With one arm twitch, a large portion of the men fall at the hands of her vectors. Scrambling to the door the other men frantically try to escape the massacre but Elise is too efficient. The vectors staunch their exit and begin to crush them with an inhuman strength. Within seconds the two of them are alone among a sea of corpses. A manic giggle passes by Elise’s throat, “I’m sorry, what were we talking about a punishment?”

“This isn’t possible! You shouldn’t have any use of your powers!” The man screeches out without a hint of his previous arrogance.

With a flick of her wrist, Elise commands one of her vectors to grab the man. He is brought nose to nose with Elise. She leans into him slightly bringing her mouth close to his ear, “Word of advice for the future,” Wrapping a vector around her hand, Elise plunges her hand within the man’s chest. “Don’t fuck with me.” She grinds out as she rips his still beating heart out. She lets the man drop to the floor and tosses his heart to the side of the cave. “Or it will be the last thing you do.” She mutters to the empty room staring at the fresh blood covering her hand. Elise slings a jacket from one of the bodies onto her naked frame and exits the cave.

Outside the darkness envelops her as the rain gently falls on her. Elise looks up at the rain relishing the cleansing feeling on her skin. Absentmindedly, she just starts walking with no particular destination in mind.

………

Several Hours Later

“Elise. Elise!” A voice shouts at Elise breaking her out of her numb haze.

In front of her is Natasha who has her hands on Elise’s shoulders looking very worried. “Elise, are you with me?”

Elise blinks a few times to refocus her sight and then nods her head to answer the question.

“Are you okay? Why are you covered in blood sweetie?”

Memories of what has happened in the cave invade her mind all at once and fill her with regret. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do it!! I’m so sorry!” Elise starts sobbing uncontrollably.

Looking slightly taken aback at the outburst, Natasha tries to soothe Elise “Shh, shhh, it’s okay. It’ll all be okay. Let’s get you home.”

Elise allows her to lead her onto a helicarrier waiting in one of the clearings.

“Oh my God.” A familiar voice mutters in the dark cargo bay of the plane. Elise’s eyes meet that of a worried looking Bruce. Without fear or hesitation, Elise walks into the open arms of Bruce, letting him soothe over the trauma she’s just endured.

“C’mon, sit down so I can look over your wounds and Natasha can take off.” Bruce says, letting his doctor side take hold of the situation.

As she nods, a bout of vertigo hits Elise, causing her to stumble forward and hit the ground out of exhaustion.

……

Stark Tower Medical Floor

 

“I don’t want to be here.” Elise states with a firm tone.

“Ms. Parker, I understand your hesitation, however it’s been requested that you go through a few wellness screenings as a precaution.” The female doctor says in a clinical tone.

“Why bother? I’m fine, you all just got done patching me up, so I don’t see why I can’t just leave. I want to go back to my room.” Elise fumes, starting to get frustrated with feelings of being trapped like a prisoner… Again. ‘I don’t even understand why they’re bothering, I’m about to get kicked out of the squad anyway. Why delay it? Just give me a bottle of pain killers and I’ll be dandy.’

“Well, apart from the trauma you’ve experienced for the past few days, the doctors noted a few…” There is an awkward silence from the doctor, almost as if she’s hesitant to say anymore, “… _abnormal_ bruises that I’d like to speak with you about.”

Elise pauses for a moment. Why does that sound familiar? ‘Oh, I get it. They think I was raped and am about to go ape shit on them. Got it.’ This wasn’t her first rodeo with shrinks; she knew how to pick out the keywords.

With a sigh Elise tries to assure the doctor of her mental stability, “I wasn’t raped. They beat me, but I’m fine now, courtesy of S.H.I.E.L.D. There, happy? May I go now?” Elise asks with all the sarcasm she could muster with her fading energy.

With a longsuffering sigh, the doctor gets up from her chair and retreats for the moment, “I can see you may need some time to process everything that has happened.” She pauses at the door frame, “If you feel like talking please don’t hesitate to contact me.” And with that she shuts the door leaving Elise alone to sort through her thoughts.

Elise gently lays her head back onto the pillows trying to not let her irritation show. Who goes through this much trouble just to fire someone? Rogers has already made it VERY clear that he doesn’t want her on the team. Fury will heed the Capitan’s warnings, for obvious reasons, meaning she’s out of a house, job, and friends. It’s just a matter of time.

‘No, being off the team is a good thing. I’ll just go back to living life as another faceless person in the crowd; just like I’ve always wanted.’ She thinks to herself with an empty sensation gnawing at her gut. Shaking the feeling off, she refocuses her attention at the task at hand, getting out of this sterile, alcohol saturated room. ‘Everyone is still out on a mission so I should have more than enough time to throw something on and leave without any trouble. No need to delay the inevitable.’

Trying to act fast before the pain killers start to wear off, Elise takes out the IV lines and heart rate monitors before swinging her legs over the side of the hospital bed. She inhales a big breath in preparation before pushing herself off onto unsteady legs. A small twinge of pain from her swollen ankle and raw back makes her grit her teeth. ‘One step down, 399 more to go.’ Her internal monologue gripes.

……………

Numerous agonizing steps later, Elise finally makes it to the elevator and leans on the bar to catch her breath. ‘Fuuuuuck. Surely this is a Vicodin worthy injury.’ She snaps.

‘They want you weak. Probably for the same reason they didn’t bring you to a normal hospital.’ Her internal thoughts antagonize her. With rage bubbling harshly beneath the surface, Elise’s resolve snaps at the next phrase.

‘They’re afraid of you.’

“ENOUGH!” Elise screams as she stomps on the elevator floor… An action she immediately regrets. The delightful ding of the elevator seemingly mocks the lightning bolt of pain shooting up from her foot. The rest of the way to her room, she mutters unintelligible curses.

Sitting on the plush carpet of her room and leaning her side against the bed frame, Elise takes a moment to compose herself, “When did walking become so painful?” Elise mumbles to herself.

“I’ve heard walking on a twisted ankle and a torn up back tends to hurt. Mind if I join you?” A voice trails in from the doorway. Elise startles before the voice registers in her mind. Looking up she’s relieved to find Bruce sitting in front of her.

Motioning at her foot, Bruce asks, “May I?”

Elise gives him a sheepish nod feeling slightly embarrassed at the predicament she’s found herself in. Not only is she about to get fired, but she’s also sitting on the floor of her old bedroom in a hospital gown with a bum leg next to her old teammate.

Bruce gingerly unwraps the bandage on her foot and scowls slightly while prodding at the increased swelling. He begins to rewrap the injured joint with a fresh bandage from his lab coat pocket before speaking. “You know, I know what it feels like.” Bruce says more to her foot than he does to her face.

“What do you mean?” Elise asks with a questioning gaze.

“I know what it feels like to have other people afraid of you… and to fear yourself.”

There is a silence in the room.  Bruce continues to work on the bandage while Elise takes a moment to digest what’s been said. “How… How did you do it? How did you learn to control your powers?” Elise asks in a hushed tone, memories of her own wrongdoings hovering just beneath her thoughts.

Bruce pauses for a beat before answering, “I stopped trying to fight it. I realized that accepting him as another side of me… it wasn’t giving into a monster. It allowed me to coexist with him to protect the things I hold dear.” Bruce smiles but it quickly fades when he notices her complexion, “C’mon, you need to rest. I’ll help you get to bed.”

Elise mutely nods, her mind swirling with a thousand questions and millions of possibilities. One thought swirls in the forefront of her mind, ‘What if I can live without being afraid of hurting anyone else?’ The little gleam of hope lifts Elise’s sprits. Bruce tucks her in and produces a dose of pain pills from his pocket; this time the good stuff. Elise gratefully accepts them but pauses when she notes how well prepared he’s been.

Bruce smiles at the question posed to him via her face. “J.A.R.V.I.S tipped me off, now get some rest.” Bruce says with a warm smile.

With that, Elise soundlessly drifts off into a drug-induced sleep.

………………….

 

Even behind her tightly shut eyelids Elise’s poor corneas can’t escape the bright morning sun. Frustrated with her abrupt wake up call, she attempts to escape by turning over only to be harshly reminded of her fresh injuries. She unintentionally lets out a groan at the intrusive feeling.

“Jesus.” Elise mutters behind clenched teeth.

“Easy there kid, I can’t imagine tearing out staples is a pleasant feeling.” A voice says from the corner of the room.

Elise jerks her head towards the male voice, only to find a pensive looking Tony at the other end. “Jarvis, send in Bruce and Cap, tell them Eli is awake.”

‘Whelp, apparently the rest of the crew are back.’ Elise thinks to herself bitterly.

There is a silence that settles into the room. While Tony takes a moment to study Elise from afar, Elise mentally steels herself for the moment she’s been dreading since overhearing Roger’s conversation with Fury. ‘It’s going to be okay. Just get this conversation over with so you can move on with life.’ Elise mentally chants to herself.

 A shuffling of feet alerts her to their presence before they pile into the room. Bruce is the first to speak, worrying only about her medical needs. “How are you feeling? Do you need anything?” Bruce asks while checking on her bandages.

 At Elise’s firm head shake, Rogers immediately begins to interrogate her regarding captivity with an arctic tone lacing his voice. “What happened? Start from the beginning.”

“Listen, I don’t understand who exactly this is going to help…” Before anything else could be said three furious glances shut her up and placed her back on track, “Whatever. After the… Incident, I left the tower to get some air but the agents approached me soon after. When they came to get me… I just figured they were S.H.I.E.L.D agents sent to bring me to HQ, so I went with them.” Elise says avoiding eye contact at all costs feeling slightly foolish after the fact.

Silence descended into the room and in a second all the tense energy transforms into confusion. Elise’s curious glance reveals three confounded faces.

“Why did you think that?” Bruce asks not understanding her rationale.

Heat floods her face. Of all the ways she had rehearsed this dreaded conversation, revealing the fact that she’d been eavesdropping hadn’t come up in any of the scenarios. “I… I overheard you conversation in the conference room…” Elise says motioning to Rogers with her head slightly.

The focus of the room shifts to Rogers.

“What conversation?” Tony asks with an edge to his voice.

Rogers holds his head slightly higher before answering, “ I spoke with Fury about some concerns I had with Elise’s powers.”

Elise tucks her head in slightly at the memory. It’s not as if his fears and concerns are unfounded. It’s true. Her powers aren’t stable, she has no control over them. It doesn’t matter if she has pure intentions, she’d only cause more harm than good.

“Elise. Don’t worry, we’ll teach you how to control your powers.” Bruce says in a soothing tone completely ignoring the staring match Rogers and Tony are having.

A slight glimmer of hope shines in her chest. “Really? I’m not off the team? You’re not going to send me away?”

With a final dirty glance at Rogers, Tony answers Elise, “No, never. This is your home now.”

Almost with an audible sound, Elise can feel the weight of her worries lift off her chest. In response, her eyes start flooding and she starts silently sobbing in front of the three men without any signs of it stopping.

Sensing that he won’t be getting anywhere anytime soon, Rogers leaves the room with a sigh. Tony gives him a farewell glare. Bruce briefly checks Elise’s wounds before tucking her back into bed.

“Get some rest kiddo, JARVIS can help if you need anything.” Tony says with a slight pat to her head.

Tony and Bruce head out leaving Elise to sort through her emotions.

Wiping off the cascading tears off her face, Elise stares at the ceiling, Weeks if not years of worry and uncertainty gone in an instant. She now has a home. She has people that care for her. Finally she can rest without wondering where she’ll go next.

Finally, for the first time in years, Elise closes her eyes without worrying about her future.


End file.
